Portugal # 7 Cork is stylish

If you are ever in Portugal and get to visit Silves take a tour of the Cork Museum it is very interesting. What is even more interesting is that there is a shop which specialises in selling items made from cork. Cork is very versatile and it's surprising how durable it is. I shouldn't be surprised really because I had cork tiles on my kitchen floor and they lasted for many years.
On my first visit to the shop I admired this overnight bag but didn't buy it and a few days later Beccy came back with it and gave it to me as a present. I felt very smart with this as hand luggage when I travelled home. So thank you Beccy that was a lovely surprise. I bought myself this cork hat but I will confess it looks better on both my daughters than it does on me. I really wanted it as a sun hat but it made my head quite hot.

I don't have a photo of the bag that Mollie bought, but I will tell you she was delighted that I was able to persuade the owner to give her a good discount!

You would be amazed at the number of goods made from cork. For example bags(purses), sandals, luggage, hats, umbrellas, coasters, pens, wallets, even postcards. I hope it proves to wash as well the shop owner says..he was certainly right about it not creasing.....time will tell not that I'm planning to get it dirty!


Archives:
2007: What are Timbits Enidd asks + Witty Wednesday # 15

Portimão Portugal # 6

We drove into Portimão across the new bridge that majestically spans the River Arade. It's actually quite attractive and you get views of the river but it's not easy to take photos in a fast moving car!

It's a pleasant enough little town but the main attraction for us was to see if the little restaurant that served sardines was still there (I know I keep on about sardines which many of you don't like so sorry about that!)
We parked and walked along the marina, there were lots of touts trying to get you to book one of the many boat trips that are on offer. Last time we were in Portugal we had a disastrous trip where nearly everyone on the boat was sea sick so we decided to give it a miss this time~ much to Dillon's disappointment!

Below is the view across the river. There are always a lot of boats to be seen and some fairly large boats still use the river.

We passed a statue of the poet but I haven't been able to find out anything about him! Found a link It was then time for an icecream Mollie enjoyed hers as you can see from the picture. I'm not sure what Dillon is explaining in this picture!
Ben decided he didn't want to pose! The shop in the background is the one called 'Miscelania'.However, he couldn't escape me for ever.
Close to the square is a pretty little shaded area with trees and seats where you can sit and watch the world go by or just enjoy the scenery.
Or you can capture a few shots of the family enjoying themselves! Just a short walk from the park is the entrance to the restaurant under a little archway (it was a lot smarter than on out last visit). Everyone must have been anxious to eat they didn't want to stop and pose for many photos!The restaurant itself had not changed at all. We got there early because we had remembered how busy they get later. This was the scene as we left when people were queuing to be seated. You might just manage to pick us out below! I haven't included any photos of the food. This is where Sam tried 'Cuttle fish" I wish I had taken a photo they are ugly little things and tasted a bit bland...she should have had sardines like Beccy and me! Someone had clearly worked very hard to create this piece of art that was on display just outside the restaurant!
As we left to walk back to our cars the sun was setting. You can just see the old bridge that is still in use to the left of the picture. If you walk under the bridge there are many more restaurants situated all along the river.
One thing I didn't mention was that there are a few nice shops and some of us did buy dresses and shoes~not me though as the shops only seem to cater for ladies who haven't piled on the pounds...such is life!

Archives:
2007: We're all going to the zoo today + Enjoying good company

Butterflies and other creatures Portugal # 5

I thought it was about time I showed you some of the wildlife we saw around the villa. We were mesmerize by the number of butterflies that came to feast of the flowers. I spent ages, standing quietly, trying to get a really good photo. These are the three that I consider to be my best shots.

There were a lot of lizards of varying sizes that we saw mainly at night, hence my rather poor efforts with the camera!This one often found its way between the shutters. Guess who worried it might find its way into the bedroom! These spent a lot of time near the roof tiles. Now this seemed to be where a lot of birds nested (I could not get a single bird pictures, they were far too quick for me!)
Finally I'm going to leave you guessing what these last two photo are~ I know they are poor quality but it was dark~I expect I've give it away!


The only downside to this holiday is that we were over run with little black ants (I don't have any photos until my grandson burns me a disc as he took some better ones than mine). They got into everything even the dishwasher. We ended up using three cans of spray and still they came back~ oh and they bite. Both embee and I got bitten on our hands and it set up a nasty reaction that took a while to clear. In fact I still have a scar!

Archives:
2007: A bomb has hit the house!

Local Produce and Pool Fun- Portugal # 4

I think I mentioned before that we bought oranges at a little stall by the side of the road on the way into Silves. I wondered just how much they sold, because every time we passed by there seemed to be few customers. In fact there were several stalls and a van within a few hundred yards of each other and they were there everyday of the week, from morning until early evening.

When we stopped, the guy on the stall very quickly peeled an orange for us to sample. They were so sweet and juicy we needed no further convincing to buy a huge bag full. Please note we came equipped with our own bags~ I hope you are impressed!
He threw in a few extra!

We also bought avocados and some small round plums.
The whole bag full of fresh fruit cost us 7euro (about $11). A real bargain in my opinion!
This is what we then enjoyed with our breakfast most mornings.


We all had a lot of fun in the pool and I put together a few little clips of my grandchildren enjoying themselves. I forgot my comments would be heard and I haven't worked out how to edit them out!

I hope you are not getting bored hearing about my holiday because I still have a few more posts in the pipeline!
Archives:
2007: Butterfly Conservatory~Niagara

Silves, Portugal # 3

Silves is the former capital of the Algarve and is of great historical importance as it was founded in Roman times and later became an important town when the Moors invaded and was an independently ruled Muslim principality. The town is situated on a hill above the Arade River. Silves Castle (Castelo dos Mouros, Moorish Castle) is located on the top of the hill and as you drive into Silves you get your first glimpse of the castle in between the buildings.
In the past few years a lot of the town has been regenerated and from what we saw this is an ongoing process.
There are lots of pretty little streets and everywhere is kept tidy and clean.
As you walk up past where I took the pictures of the storks you find a little square with a fountain, and a cafe and close by are some shops and restaurants. This becomes a very popular meeting place for locals during the evening.
As you walk through the archway from the corner of the square you are gradually walking up very steep roads past old churches to the entrance of the castle.
This giant statue of a knight guards the doorway to the castle. It depicts D. Sancho I, who reconquered Silves from the Moors for the first time in 1189. You cannot see from this picture but where people have continuously touched the foot it is really shiny.
They are doing a lot of renovation to grounds of the castle and I have to say that I think the restaurant that is being built in the middle of the grounds will actually detract from the charm of the old fortress walls. But I guess they need to make it profitable.
You can just see the reconstruction of a Moorish archway in the inner yard of the castle. It shows a fine example of the architecture of that period. That's My grandson and his friend in the picture.
The fortified walls of the castle are armed with strong battlements. They are built out of red sandstone of the region, the so called “grés vermelho de Silves” and dried mud.

Ben was not too keen on carrying his own drink but I think he looks quite cute in this rear view.
From the walls of the castle, visitors can enjoy spectacular views over the rural landscape surrounding Silves.




After our visit we walked back past a restaurant where we had enjoyed a meal a few evenings earlier.

I hope you have enjoyed this little tour~ I took masses more photos of the different views around the battlements but if you have got this far I'm sure you will have seen enough!

Archives:
2007: Witty Wednesday 12

The Storks of Silves, Portugal # 2

First an UPDATE from yesterday's Fun Monday post. For anyone who might be remotely interested Sam and I did de-scale, gut and clean the sardines. It really is not as bad as it sounds. Also to clarify, the taste of fresh sardines bears absolutely no resemblance to the tinned version!! There are some more sardine photos over at Sam's.

************************************

In my first post about Silves I mentioned some special inhabitants..........so let me explain. As we were eating dinner on our first evening in Silves we heard a really weird clacking sound. The restaurant owner showed us what was causing all the noise! He was able to explain that the storks had become a protected species and because of this numbers are increasing. Apparently, they are now becoming something of a nuisance. I imagine it's a bit like the problem we have here in the UK with pigeons and seagulls!
Quite a few pairs were actually nesting on the chimneys and tall buildings. For the visitors they are quite a fascinating sight, but I can see for the residents all the mess and noise could easily become a problem.



It was not that easy for me to get a good photo because I only have a simple camera but I think these pictures will give you an idea. Not sure if there were any babies up there!!

Archives:
2007: The weary wanderer returns